There. Now you know how I, a sports purist who grew up in the Cro-Magnon era, feel about FF.

But I am not naive. I know how popular FF is, with an estimated 30 million participating in fantasy sports leagues throughout the United States and Canada, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, whatever that is.

Widespread popularity, however, doesn’t mean it’s always a good thing. Porn, which also involves fantasy, is popular, too. So are illegal drugs. So is illegal gambling. And they all are potentially addictive, which is never a good thing.

But I also know that FF is a necessary evil, especially for struggling print-media companies trying to make money writing about and analyzing sports, even imaginary sports.

Why else do you think Sports Illustrated recently promoted on its cover a “Fantasy Draft Guide” preview? It devoted nine pages to the subject, offering its top picks, such as running back Adrian Peterson and quarterback Drew Brees. (You’re welcome.)

Why else do you think Time magazine devoted two pages to FF in its latest issue? (Headline: “It’s Called Fantasy for a Reason: Football’s online offshoot has taken on a life of its own. Are we getting too caught up in it?”)

Why else do you think I’m writing about something I hate?

In case you’re not among the 30 million devotees, participants in most fantasy football leagues pay an entry fee to draft and trade for real NFL players to stock their make-believe teams, which compete weekly against other fantasy players’ teams, usually for weekly and end-of-season cash prizes, trophies and bragging rights. Fantasy points are awarded based on how your players perform in certain statistical categories.

For the record, I’ve never been in a fantasy league, so I couldn’t tell you whether a great quarterback is better than a great running back. And I don’t want to know. It’s difficult enough for the So-Called Expert to keep up with real stats and real players and injuries while trying to predict which real teams are going to win when I take on the guest prognosticator every week.

Almost all of the aspiring guest prognosticators brag to me about their fantasy league prowess, as if that’s going to impress me. On the contrary.

But FF undeniably is big business. The Time story said fantasy sports are an $800 million industry and that the average fantasy football player has an average household income of $81,000 and spends $73 to join a league. Fantasy players also spend an average of five hours a week managing their teams, often at work, resulting in an estimated $9 billion drain on workplace productivity.

Whether the NFL admits it or not, FF leagues and illegal gambling are two of the biggest reasons the NFL is so popular. But that’s not why I dislike fantasy sports so much.

FF takes the enjoyment out of watching NFL games and rooting for your favorite team, the team you grew up hoping would one day make it to the Super Bowl.

When your fantasy team becomes more important than your favorite real team, you often find yourself watching as many games as you can, sometimes simultaneously -— or going to Internet sites — to track your players’ stats instead of, say, watching the Chargers game from start to finish. Several of my friends who are in FF leagues admit this.

I once went to a buddy’s house to watch a Bears game, and all he did was change DirecTV channels every minute or two to check up on players on his fantasy team. It was infuriating. Last time I watched a game with him, too.

I suppose FF can help fill the void in an NFL market without a pro team, which has been the case here since the Rams and Raiders bolted 15 years ago. But FF is out of control.

For example, you can now take out insurance policies on players (see fantasysportsinsurance.com) to protect your league-fee investment in case of a season-ending injury to a Peyton Manning or a LaDainian Tomlinson. There are also online sites to settle FF disputes (see fantasydispute.com and sportsjudge.com) related to collusion charges or arguments over eyebrow-raising trades. (Why can’t you trade Manning to your wife’s team if your team is out of the running for the $1,000 first prize?)

As star Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald recently complained to The Associated Press, “Every stadium we go to, I hear, ‘Hey, Fitzgerald, you suck, but I really need some fantasy stats out of you.'”

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